A Second Chance
With the disappointment of my summit attempt yesterday being abandoned to avoid frostbite and the poor weather forecast, we were almost sure we would be heading down the mountain to go home today. However, to our surprise, the weather forecast did a 180! The days that looked terrible for summiting before now have low winds and reasonable temperatures. With two other team members making it up here yesterday, we are now planning a Sunday summit attempt.
Denali Summit Ridge
Also, congratulations to my climbing partner, Peter! He solo climbed to the summit of Mount McKinley after I had to turn around yesterday.
May 30, 2008: Summit Attempt Aborted
Decent weather finally came to Denali. Overnight, the low was only -15; we had a predicted a daytime high of zero. It seemed like beach weather compared to the previous week’s frigid temperatures. We started out on the route at about 8:30 am Alaskan time and pushed our way up to the Denali pass. The pass is in the shade until about 11am. This makes it very cold to climb; I would estimate about -10 degrees. Peter and I pushed our way up hill and made very steady progress. However, about two hours into the climb, my hands started to hurt. It was the numbing pain usually felt before frostbite sets in. One of my rules in climbing has always been no summit is worth your fingers or your toes. Peter and I talked briefly about the situation, at 18,000 feet. We both decided it was best for me to go back down to high camp immediately. It is very disappointing for me to be so close to the summit, probably only three hours away, and needing to turn around. Mountaineering can be cruel sport. It demands all you have but sometimes still leaves you just short of your goal. Years of training, months of planning, and weeks in harsh mountain conditions can still not allow you to achieve your goal because of situations out of your control, ie: frostbite, weather, lack of resources, run out of time, etc.
Regardless of all this, we checked the forecast this evening. Saturday and Sunday are good summit window days. Right now, I am waiting for other teams to arrive to see who we can join to make a summit attempt. It could be tomorrow or Sunday, depending on the weather and the other team’s schedule. We only have enough food to last until Monday so the next three days are our last opportunities. I will keep everyone posted.
Top Ten List – Summit Attempt Tomorrow
Here at Denali’s 17,200 feet camp, it has been very cold. We have not seen a temperature above zero for over a week now. The highs are about -5 F and lows around -25 F to -30 F. So, since we continue to be stuck in our tent because of bad weather, Peter and I came up with a top ten list.
It is so cold that……
10. It feels like a masochistic camping trip not a mountain climbing trip any more.
9. We saw the squirrel of squirrel hill hitchhiking rides down the hill to lower elevations in climbers’ backpacks.
8. We had tears in our eyes that froze our eyes shut.
7. The pee hole in camp is now a pee mound since, right now, water freezes instantly when it hits the ground.
6. Your breath freezes to the top of the tent every night. We wake up to a layer of ice on our tent ceiling every morning.
5. We have to put our water bottles inside our sleeping bag with us to keep them from freezing.
4. We have stopped fighting it and now have acquired a taste for Gatorade slushies.
3. We are now sleeping in all our climbing gear to try to stay warm. This includes our down parkas; our sleeping bags are rated only to -20 F.
2. It is a race against time to finish your meal before it freezes.
1. We are now very excited to hear a weather forecast with a high of zero.
I look forward to getting back to 70 F in Michigan. I look forward to pizza, civilization, and family including the seven Golden Retriever puppies that were born last week.
The weather forecast has changed again. Our closest summit window is tomorrow, Friday, because the winds are going to die down sooner than expected. Our plan is to summit tomorrow, May 30.
Patience, Patience, Patience.
View of High Camp, 17,200 feet
Patience is the name of the game right now on Mount McKinley. We are still at 17,200 feet, waiting for the weather to clear. The weather report says winds may die down late Friday, which would make Saturday the earliest summit window. With overnight temperatures as low as -30 degrees F, our morale is beginning to wane. We are trying to stay positive but it is a struggle. At 17,200 feet, you can feel your body get slowly weaker. Your body starts to use any fat you have in search of energy, especially in this low oxygen environment.
View to the summit
On a brighter note, being at high camp puts us within view of the summit. It seems so close, only 3,000 vertical feet above us. The years of training and weeks of pushing through difficult conditions finally has an end and a reward in sight. With anticipation and respect for the mountain, we wait for the mountain to grant us safe passage to the summit.
May 27, 2008: Summit Attempt Postponed
A weather window has finally broken on Mount McKinley. With 2 days of good weather ahead, our team decided to split up, due to how strong Peter and I were feeling. So, Peter and I decided to forge up from the 14,000 foot camp to high camp at 17,200 feet. This was a major undertaking. It not only involves a move up in altitude of 3200 feet into much thinner air but also moving up Mount McKinley’s headwall. The headwall is 2,000 feet tall and has a 50-degree incline, followed by a thin ridge leading to the high camp. In order to have a chance to summit on the second good weather day, we had to carry all our gear on our backs without sleds, totaling almost 80 pounds each. This move to high camp yesterday took almost 7 hours. It was tremendously hard. Our bodies were not only taxed by the heavy loads but our lungs burned from lack of oxygen in the thin air at high altitude. We finally reached camp about 7pm Alaskan time. Exhausted, we put up our tent and started to make dinner. It was dehydrated lasagna; it is not that good. Every movement we made felt like it was a lot of work. Even simple tasks like unrolling your sleeping bag, moving your backpack 5-6 feet or even rolling over in your sleeping bag are enough to get you out of breath.
After we got camp settled and ate, we went to bed in hopes of attempting to reach the summit today. I could not sleep most of the night. I could just feel my lungs gasping for air and my heart pounding to pump my oxygen-starved muscles as much oxygen as it had to supply them. I realized I had a mild case of acute mountain sickness. So, I decided I needed to wait to attempt the summit until my body adjusted to the altitude. Peter conservatively attempted a summit today by himself but had to turn around to come back to our camp due to the altitude and weather. The weather forecast shows another summit window Friday. Between now and then, the winds are still at very high speeds making it dangerous to attempt any moves. So, now we wait. Hopefully, I will be adjusted to the altitude by Friday.